Innermost Healthcare offer a range of services for women and their partners who are planning a pregnancy and want to optimise their health, discuss potential risks and complicatins and how they can be managed in order to make informed decisions about and take control of their reproductive choices.

Click here or on the blue services button at the bottom of the page for details of relevant services which may be of interest.

There are various aspects for couples to consider prior to planning a pregnancy. Lifestyle factors, pre-existing medical conditions and medications as well as screening for genetic conditions and vaccinations are all important aspects to ensure the best chances of a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. We provide a Pre-Pregnancy Counselling service to help parents to be prepare for pregnancy.

Click here to book a Pre-Pregnancy Consultation to discuss how to best prepare for a pregnancy.

Lifestyle – Smoking, Alcohol, Diet and Obesity

Alcohol and smoking and non-prescribed drugs have a significant impact on the risks of miscarriage, growth restriction, stillbirth and birth defects and should be stopped before trying to conceive and during pregnancy.

Click here to see a video interview with Professor Peter Hepper and Dr Bryan Beattie about alcohol and pregnancy.

Diet is an important factor and certain foods should be avoided when trying to conceive or when pregnant. Even with a healthy diet however it is important to take Folic Acid 400mcg daily for 8 weeks before and 12 weeks into the pregnancy to reduce the risk of spina bifida.

Obesity confers significant risks to mother and baby and women who are overweight should consider measures such as diet and exercise to try to lose weight before conceiving. Sometimes it will even help those who are having difficulty getting pregnant. Some of the risks include an increased risk of hypertension and diabetes in the mother, difficulties monitoring and scanning in pregnancy and in labour, stillbirth and large babies with traumatic deliveries causing damage to mother and baby. Pregnancies in women with a very low body weight are also at increased risk of growth restriction in the baby.

Click here to book a Pre-Pregnancy Consultation to discuss how to best prepare for a pregnancy.

Carrier Screening

At present over 7,000 genetic diseases have been discovered affecting about 1 in 100 pregnancies and most of these lead to miscarriage, birth defects, early death or disability. Some common diseases caused by a single gene defect include hereditary hearing loss, sickle cell anaemia and thalassemia.

Most people do not know they are carriers and sadly, each year millions of parents find out only when their child is born with a serious lifethreatening genetic disorder. Often there have been no previously affected family members and hence it comes as a great shock.

Our Vista Carrier Screening Test screens for 600 common single gene defect diseases. Testing is a very personal choice and our experts will help you decide whether is right for you.

Carriers are healthy individuals who nevertheless have a mutant version of a critical gene. If the results show that both prospective parents are carriers of a condition, they could choose to have IVF and screen their embryos, so that only healthy ones are implanted in the womb. Other options include genetic testing during pregnancy, or adoption. Couples armed with all the facts can then make informed choices about trying to conceive or not and testing during pregnancy.

The vast majority of screening tests are normal but if a screening test is positive, the result can help you to make informed decisions about trying to conceive or having preimplantation genetic diagnosis, about the management or the outcome of your pregnancy or about treatment for your baby after birth.

Click here to book a Pre-Pregnancy Consultation to discuss carrier screening.

Planning Pregnancy and Birth

Although there will be plenty of opportunities to discuss important issues about prenatal screening, planned place of birth and planned mode of delivery, it is useful to consider these before embarking on pregnancy.

Those with risk factors for a baby with birth defects or chromosomal abnormalities, a complicated pregnancy, previous traumatic birth or stillbirth should discuss the likelihood of similar complications again and how best to screen and monitor the pregnancy and how and where to give birth. The Royal College of Midwives have produced a useful information leaflet which explores the pros and cons of homebirth, delivery in a Midwifery Led Unit or a Consultant Led Unit. There is also a useful leaflet from NICE detailing the pros and cons of Caesarean Section.

Click here to book a Pre-Pregnancy Consultation to discuss how to best plan your care when pregnant.

Vaccination – Rubella

Rubella (the virus that causes German Measles) can cause devastating birth defects if contracted in pregnancy and there is no treatment for it.

Vaccination before pregnancy ensures that the woman is protected from Rubella and thus also her baby.

Click here to book a Pre-Pregnancy Consultation to discuss Rubella Vaccination.

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